Visible-index device



Jan. 19 192,6.

W. A. RNGLER VISIBLE "INDEX DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed ,March 22, 1920 IN Vly TOR.

7, Z/Jumw.

WITNESS:

f f/f A TTORNEY.

Jan. 19 1926.

w A. RINGLER VISIBLE INDEX DEVICE Filed March 22. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEs/.

Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

, l 1,569,884A lr'lm'larrloF-Fic's.

WILLIAM A. RINGLER, Olf NEW YORK, N. Y., ASIG`NOR THE GLOBE-WEBNICKE- COMPANY, A CORPORATION F OHIO.

VISIBLE-INDEX Dnvrcn 'application ned March 2z. 1920. semi no. 367,617.

To all whom it mag/concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. RINGLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new; and useful Improvements in Visible-Index Devices, of which the follownumber, or other suitable infomation or data in a position to be always visible.

One object of my invention is to provide improved means for supportingr the cards in position, which will enable the insertion or withdrawal of ya' card at will anywhere in the index'without removal or rearrangement of other cards, which will permit of ready access to both sides of any card for the purpose of obtaining information therefrom or entering additionalinformation thereon, without removing the card from the frame; which prevents the cards from falling out' or becoming disarranged when the frame is shifted to different positions, and which permits the shifting of any card at any time to different offset positions, relatively to the other cards, in order to convey additional infomation by its` position or to laccentuata by its position, anycard or group of cards.

A. further object is to provide carriers for each card for su porting thegsame in the frame, which willenable" ra id renewal or substitution of cards, when od ones are discarded. 1

A further object is to'provide a transpar# ent covering for the normally exposed free edge of each card which can be easily vattaehed to and 1detached from each card, which is not susceptible of accidental detachment 'during normal use of the index, and which will protect the exposed portion of the card fromsoiling due to handling.

.A further object is to provide a device of the character described which is inexpensive, simple in construction, and durable and convement in use.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description, and the `novel features y of my invention will be ly on the line e-c of vface thereof. T

.mg through an aperture in the str1 out in the claims. In the drawings: y

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an index device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse substantially on the line a--a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one of the index members or elements, l

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of an index member.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the opposite end of the same member, v

Fig. 6 is a section substantially on the line b-b of Fig. 3.

or bar,

section of the same,

. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the locking blocky particularly pointed Fig. 8 is a section ofthe same, substantialy Fig. Fig. 9 1s an elevation of a detail,

Fig. 10 is a plan of a sheet from which the` index cards are formed, Fig. 11 is a it has been se arated into cards and bent into the desired) shape, and

Fig. V12 is an end lustrated in Fig. 11.

In the illustrated supporting frame 1 is preferably of metal and has a rectan lar opening 2 in the front e side panels 3 of the openi and the rear face 4 form guideways -5 an 6 along the o posite sides of the frame. In one of the gui eways 6, I rovide a thin flexible strip 4of spring stee 7 which is anchored to the frame at one end with provision for sliding movement toward the rear wall of the guidewaiy by suitable meanssuch as a screw 8 carrie by the frame and p'slplan of the same'sheet,l aftery elevation of the cards ilembodiment, lthe mainv strip 7 carries in spaced relation a on its I length al plurality of small spring mem 9 which react upon the bottom or rear wall of the guideway 6 and hold the strip in s aced relation therewith. An inturned ange 3l of the frame limits outward movement of the strip 7 and contines it within the guideway.

A plurality of adapted to receive and ad'lustably carry ear s 11, are disposed side y side in -the guideways, The ends or extensions 12 and 13 of the carriers 10 are of such a shape that they form pivots and permit rotation ofthe carriers inthe guideways and about their .in-

card carriers 10, which are I the pivot 12 is'first thrust into the dividual axes. The spring stri 7 and individual sprin 9 tend to shift t e carriers to the right ig. 1) with the extensions or pivot ends 13 extending as Vfar into the guidewa 5 as possible, so that the carriers cannot rop out of the frame. When one desires to insert a new carrier into the frame,

- idewa Gand `against the strip 7 which yie ds loca ly and permits the further insertion of the pivot sufficiently to allow the other pivot 13 to drop into the opening 2 in ali nment with guideway 5.l The carrier is t en released and the strip 7 and springs 9 shift the same toward the right (Fig. 1) until the pivot 13' abuts against the rear wall of the guideway, and holds it in this position. When one desires to remove any carrier, it is first manually shifted to the left (Fig. 1) against the action of the strip 7 and spring 9 until the pivot end 13 leaves the guideway 5, whereupon the carrier is swu outwardly and to the right (Fig. 1) to wit draw the pivot 13 from the guideway 6. By the use of the flexible spring strip 7 and the small springs 9, any carrier'can be removed or l without releasing adjacent ones, due to the fact that the strip 7 yields only locally at the point where the carrier is inserted or re moved, and holds the others in place, or at yleast sufficiently secure, so as to prevent them from fallin out. The spring 7 is allowed to yield loca ly in this manner because of its `support at but one end which permits sufficientlongitudinal movement to compensate for the shortening due to the local bending. It will thus be, seen that any carrier .can be quickly and easily -removed or incarriers would be likely to slide alon serted anywhere without removingl or rearrangin the other carriers. If t e frame shouldie shifted to different positions, zlkae e ideways by the action of gravity an peraps' assume a diagonal position which would allow some of them to dro out. To prevent this,` Ifprovide a lockingv ar 14 arranged to slide in the guidewaysY and be secured in various adjusted positions and thus hold the carriers together at one eiid of the frame. The bar 14 may conveniently bel'formed from sheet metal vby bending the ends ofa blank at right angles to the face 14. to form ed faces 15, and then a ain bending the endg: or edges of the edge aces at right an les to the latter to form bottom walls 16 w ich are in the same plane with one another and arallel with the front face 14, the shape being that of an open ended box with a alot along the entire length of one face A spring strip 17 is se cured rigidly at oneen by a rivet 18 to the interiorjof .the box, in alignment with the alot inthe rear face, and haa'at ite other end a pin and slot connection 19 also with an interior face of the box. 'Die intermediate y ot or central portion of the strip is bowed outthe button by enga ement with the depression or a rture wil yieldingly hold the bar against is lacement.

The carrier is preferably of metal and ma be formed from a piece of sheet materia which is rolled spirally into the shape illustrated in Figures 3 to 6, with the over- Eping edges 22 and 23 s aced from each er to form a slot in w ich the card is adapted to slide and be supported. The edge 23 extends` a short distance over the card to form an a ron for preventing any bending of the card which would release it i from `the slot. At the pivot and 12, a portion 24 of the edge 23 is bent tightly around the spiral to close the slot and limit the movement -of the card therein to the left (Fig. l). The card 11 has its edge, which passes through the slot, bent at an an le to the body thereof, to form a hooksaped edge 25 which is dis sed within the iral end prevents the car from being pull out by any forces to which the cards 'will be subjected in normal use. The cards may be considerably shorter than the carriers so that any card or group of cards can, by sliding it or them alongthe carrier, be positioned in any offset relation with respect to the other cards, in order to accentuate their position or convey additional information lby the relative position occupied. The free ed of the cards, when in the frame, will overigaeg by an amount approximatel equal to the longitudinal space occupied y a carrier in the frame, and the pivots or extensions 12 and 13 should have an equivalent diameter greater than the thickness of the card or information-carrying member 11 in order to allow the cards or members 11 to hang properly. The narrow edge portion 26 of each card which is always exposed by the overlapping of the cards in the frame, will be provided with suitable identification inforlll) mation such as the name, number, or code lll ' tector'27 which can be an extension. The doubled-back arm 29 fits v face, and any desired information can then be readily placed thereon. It one wishes to use the rear of anyv card, that card 'can be turned up andthe rear side will then be in a position to enable inspection or entry of information thereon.

Where frequent use, the exposed edges carrying the name, etc.. may become soiled, and to prevent this I may employ a transparent prosecurcd to a card by means of a doubled-back edge 28 on the exposed edge of the latter. The protector 27 is V shaped, but with one arm 29 ofthe V doubled back within the V into a position parallel with the anni of which 1t is over the doubled-back edge 28 of the Card and 'is supported thereby. The protector 27 is placed upon or detached from the bottom or edge of the card by sliding the same laterally of the card, the edge 28' acting as y a guide for this purpose. If desired, the

front faceor arm of the protector 27 may be provided with a flap 30 which can be bent around the end of the protector and secured to the rear arm 29 and thus prevent possible separation of the arms of the V.

Small tabs 31`of paper may be inserted between the front arm of the protector and card, as indicated in Fig. 3, to convey special information, and be removed at any time after their purpose has been served.

l In typewriting the name, address, or other information along the bottom edge of the cards.. difiiculty is often experienced in holding the cards properly in the typewriting machine. I may therefore employ a long sheet 32 of suitable cardboard of a width equal to that of the cards and marked, perforated and scored as indicated in Fig. 10. Thus the scoring; rwould be alongr lines 33, :2nd the perforations would be along,r lines 34. all transversely of the cards. The sheet 32 is placed in the typewriting machine and typewritten with the preliminary information which goes on each card. The sheet is then separated along the perforated lines 34 into individual cards, and bent along the scored lines 83. The cards thus 4formed are illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, and are ready for insertion into their carriers and to have their protectors 27 applied.

In use, the. cards are prepared in the manner described. the protectors 27am attached, and the cards inserted into their carriers. The carriers alreadv in the frame are slightly separated at the point where the new carrier is to be inserted, the extension or pivot 12 of the new carrier thrust into guideway 6, depressingr spring strip 7, until the extension or pivot 13 can be dropped into the frame. The carrier is then released, and the strip 7 and springs 9 shift the new carrier-to the right (Fig. 1) as far as it will go. Any

. l outwardly an index of this kind is subject to -disposed in said card and carrier can be removed by slightly srparating the carriers adjacent thereto, thrusting the particular carrier to the left until pivot lend 13 clears the edge of the guideway, then swinging the pivot end `13 the pivot 12 is withdrawn from the guideway 6. Thus new cards and carriers can `be inserted or removed at will without removal Ior rearrangement of the cards and carriers.

lVhcn one desires to accentuate a card, it is shifted in its carrier tc any desired extent. The bar 14 can be nlianunlly shifted as necessary to retain the cards and carriers in one end of the frame and also permit of expansion.

cards, it is obvious that any account carry- .ing members or containers can be employed with suitable pivots or carriers. The protectors 27 and bent up edges 28 may also be omitted if desired. It is also obvious that various 'other modifications may be made in the construction of my apparatus as illustrated in the drawings and above particularly described, within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An index device comprising a frame having guideways along opposite sides thereof, a plurality of index cards, carriers guideways and supporting each of said cards for sliding movement lat-l erally of the frame and for pivotal movement about the axis of support to position any card so as to enable the ready entry of information upon either face thereof without lremoval of the member from the frame.

2. A visible index device comprising a frame having guideways along opposite sides thereof, a plurality of index members having extensions adapted to be received in said guideways, a flexible member disposed in one of said guideways, extending lengthwise thereof and4 anchored at one point to the frame the member ,being otherwise unttached to the frame, a plurality of reslient devices between the flexible member and the rear wall of the guideway and arranged aloner the length of the iiexible member at spaced distances apart, whereby when one of the extensions of an index member is inserted intothe guideway having the flexible member, the latter will yield locally toward the rear wall of "the guideway sufficient); to enable insertion of the other ex tension into the other guideway, and to yieldingly retain the extensions of the index .h'iember'within said guideways.

and to the right ,(Fig. 1) until to the right (Fig. l)

While I have described the members l1 as lll rality of index members slidably mounted in p said guideways, a bar also slidably mounted in said gnideways and adapted-to hold the index members together in one end of the frame, and a spring device carried by. the bar and engageable in any of the apertures to retain the bar in adjusted positions.

5. A visible index device comprising a frame having uideways along opposite sides thereof and a sq having a series of spaced apertures in the rear wall thereof and extending arallel with the guideways, a pluralit)7 o? index members slidably mounted in said guideways, a bar also slidably mounted in said guideways and adaptedv to hold the index members together in one end of the frame, and a spring-pressed lug carried by the bar and adapted to snap into the apertures in the frame and retain the bar in a justed positions and be cammed out of an aperture to permit movement of the bar -angle to the face thereof, the body of said card being slidable between the overlapping edges of the carrier with the bent narrow ortion within the spiral.

7. A blank for use with a visible index comprising a sheet of pliant material capable `of receiving written or printed information,

said sheet having lines of perforations extending transversely thereof at spaced dis tances along the same in order to facilitate separation of the sheet at the desired places into individual cards, said sheet also being scored transversely thereof a short distance from each end and a short distance from each side of each of the lines of perforations, whereby any desired data or information may be rst typewritten at suitable intervals alon the length of the sheet, the sheet separate along the lines of perforations, and bent along the scoring substantially as described.

In witness whereof I' hereunto subscribe my signature.

WILLIAM A. RINGLER. 

